MEZIESBLOG

As Kyiv’s forces enter parts of Russia, here is a recap of what has happened today: 

• Some 11,000 people were evacuated from the Krasnoyaruzhsky district in Russia’s Belgorod region due to activity by Ukrainian forces, a Russian official said;
• Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said his forces now controlled 1,000 square kilometres of Russia’s neighbouring Kursk region, the first time a Ukrainian military official has publicly commented on the gains;
• Vladimir Putin said the Ukrainian army’s invasion into the Kursk region, which has caused more than 100,000 civilians to flee, was an attempt by Kyiv to stop Moscow’s offensive in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region and gain leverage in possible future peace talks;
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed for the first time that Ukrainian military forces are operating inside the Kursk region;
• The Ukrainian leader also said Russia had to be “forced to make peace”.
• Some 11,000 people were evacuated from the Krasnoyaruzhsky district in Russia’s Belgorod region due to activity by Ukrainian forces;
• Kyiv’s army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed Ukraine controlled around 1,000 square kilometres of Russia’s Kursk region;
• The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Ukraine’s invasion of the Kursk region had allowed Kyiv to seize the battlefield initiative for the first time since the end of last year;
• A fire broke out at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant;
• China called for de-escalation after Ukrainian troops launched a surprise assault inside Russia;
• Vladimir Putin said the Russian military must “dislodge” Ukrainian troops from border regions, according to reports;
• The governor of Russia’s Kursk region claimed Ukrainian forces used shells containing chemical weapons during their invasion.

What do we know about the invasion into the Kursk region?

On 6 August, Ukraine invaded Russia’s Kursk region and Russian forces are still scrambling to respond to the surprise attack.

The attack has caused more than 100,000 civilians to flee and Ukraine’s top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi says his forces now control 1,000 square kilometres of the region.

The question over whether Kyiv’s forces aim to hold territory or are staging hit-and-run raids remain unclear but it is the first time the Ukrainian army has spearheaded an attack of this nature rather than pro-Ukraine Russian fighters.

Russian forces ‘reduce number of guided bomb attacks in Kharkiv region’

Russian forces have reduced the number of guided bomb attacks on border settlements in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, the local governor has said.

The Kremlin has long been pummelling Ukrainian villages lying on the border with artillery and destructive guided bombs. 

It stepped up attacks on the Kharkiv region in May, when Moscow’s troops opened a new front in the region’s north.

But today, the governor Oleh Syniehubov told national TV: “We have been recording a sharp decrease in guided bomb strikes in recent days.”

He said the border area had seen the number of bombs go down from up to 60 guided bomb strikes per day to “no more than 10”.

He added though that Russia continued attacking civilian infrastructure.

Moscow denies targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.

Fire at Odesa grain warehouse extinguished

Firefighters in Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa extinguished a blaze that threatened a grain warehouse, the state emergency service reported earlier today.

No fatalities or injuries were reported as a result of the fire, which spanned around 2,000 metres and charred a portion of the facility in the village of Vizyrka. 

Authorities did not specify the cause.

“Thanks to the prompt actions of the firefighters, it was possible to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby grain warehouses,” the state emergency service said in a statement.

It did not name the damaged facility near the Black Sea port of Pivdennyi, one of Ukraine’s largest.

Ukraine launches drone attacks on Russia

Russia’s air defence units destroyed 14 drones that Ukraine launched overnight targeting Kursk, Voronezh and Belgorod region, Russia’s news agencies have reported.

Twelve of the drones were destroyed over the border region of Kursk, and one each over Voronezh and Belgorod regions, RIA agency reported citing Russia’s defence ministry.

There was no information provided on how many drones in total Ukraine had launched overnight.

All of Ukraine under air raid alert after overnight strikes

As of around 5am UK time, all of Ukraine was under air raid alerts with the threat of fresh attacks, the air force has said. 

The new sirens came after Russia had already launched 38 attack drones and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight.

Thirty of the drones were destroyed over several Ukrainian regions, but the air force did not specify what happened to the weapons that were not destroyed.